BEIRUT: Three artists from the MENA region received international recognition for their work to advance freedom of expression this month, including Lebanese playwright Lucien Bourjeily.
The other artists nominated for Index on Censorships Freedom of Expression Awards are Egyptian musician Mayam Mahmoud, Turkish playwright and writer Meltem Arikan and British playwright David Cecil nominated for his work fighting homophobia in Uganda.
The idea is to award people across different categories who have ... contributed to promoting freedom of expression, IOCs Head of Arts Julia Farrington told The Daily Star by telephone, particularly in areas where there is hostility to freedom of expression and where personal courage and creativity and commitment is required in order to see their work through.
IOC launched its Freedom of Expression Awards 14 years ago. More than 300 international figures working in journalism, digital activism, campaigning/advocacy and the arts have been nominated for the 2014 awards. Four nominees were shortlisted for the arts category. The winners will be announced March 20 in London.
The proliferation of regional candidates this year may reflect, in part, particularly restrictive censorship laws. Its true there are constraints on freedom of expression in the Middle East, Farrington conceded, and I think artists are at the forefront of that, but it is also a coincidence ... We try for geographic spread and gender spread across all the awards and I think there was just a cluster of very strong candidates [from the region] this year.
In her music, Mahmoud (who made it to the semifinals of Arabs Got Talent last autumn) tackles such issues as gender inequality and sexual harassment, expressing her views via male-dominated rap.
In the wake of Turkeys Gezi Park protests last year, Turkish politicians accused Arikan of inciting demonstrations with her play Mi Minor. A hate campaign launched on social media sites left her fearing for her life.
Arikans 2004 novel Stop Hurting My Flesh, about women traumatized by rape and incest, had previously been banned for, among other things, arousing sexual desire and using a feminist approach.
Bourjeily has worked extensively with NGOs and theater organizations championing artistic freedom in Lebanon and abroad. He is known for introducing improvisational and immersive theater practices in Beirut, challenging the countrys censorship laws which stipulate that scripts be approved by General Securitys censorship bureau before being staged.
The playwright made headlines in Lebanon last year with his interactive play Will it Pass or Not? The title reiterates the question Lebanese playwrights and filmmakers ask themselves before, during and after they write a script.
Continue reading here:
Censorship and art do not mix
- Unnecessary Censorship in Skyrim Dawnguard by Normal Difficulty - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Is Censorship Ever Justified? - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Researchers fight censorship on China's Weibo - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- This Week in Unnecessary Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Censorship in Politics on the Rise - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Censorship Makes No Sense! - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Government Censorship Requests to Google Exploding - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Google Censorship Report - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Unnecessary Censorship in Video Games - Skyrim Part 5 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Solar Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- euronews interview - Farhadi - self-censorship 'real danger' for Iranian filmmakers - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Youtube censorship. Let's make youtube the next Myspace - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Political Correctness SUCKS! Subliminal Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Iran Internet Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Unnecessary Censorship in Video Games - Mass Effect 3 Part 2 - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- In China, is censorship the mother of creativity? - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Unnecessary Censorship in Mass Effect 3 by Normal Difficulty - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- AOL censors blogs? - Video [Last Updated On: September 7th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 7th, 2012]
- Tunisia: Govt Drops Internet Censorship [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- Selectmen fear censorship at Saugus TV [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- Chinese 'blind spot' for Western readers [Last Updated On: September 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 8th, 2012]
- The New Yorker Got Temporarily Banned From Facebook for Posting Cartoon Boobs [Censorship] [Last Updated On: September 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 11th, 2012]
- Back Story: Orwellian-speak [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2012]
- EDIT: Facebook Censorship [Last Updated On: September 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 13th, 2012]
- Nothing, however vile, justifies censorship [Last Updated On: September 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 16th, 2012]
- 'US administration has put blame where it belongs' [Last Updated On: September 19th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 19th, 2012]
- Iran Shuts Down Google, Will Completely Cut Citizens Off the Internet [Censorship] [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- Belarus’s illusion of democracy [Last Updated On: September 25th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 25th, 2012]
- Censorship In The Americas: Google Brazil Chief Just Released From Custody [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2012]
- Global censorship of Internet on the rise [Last Updated On: September 29th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 29th, 2012]
- Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship is up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship on the up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Internet censorship up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Internet Censorship on the Up, Report Says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Big Brother still watching: Internet censorship up, report says [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- National banned book week sheds light on censorship [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2012] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2012]
- Iran unblocks access to Gmail [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Iran unblocks Gmail, plans local alternatives [Last Updated On: October 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 1st, 2012]
- Kurt Vonnegut, Harper Lee, and Other Literary Greats on Censorship [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2012]
- Read-out being held to raise awareness for banned book week [Last Updated On: October 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 2nd, 2012]
- Bike Matadors and Censorship Towels Spring From Ad Firm’s Creative Offshoot [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Letter: White House guilty of censorship by stealth in seeking YouTube removal [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- YouTube goes legit in Turkey, bringing more sales and more censorship [Last Updated On: October 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 3rd, 2012]
- Cantor revisits 1937 degeneracy, censorship [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- Kent Free Library brings attention to censorship with participation in Banned Books Week [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- Media watchdog accuses Iran of intimidating journalists [Last Updated On: October 4th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 4th, 2012]
- ‘Media censorship is back…’ [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Philippine president defends cybercrime law [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Iran censors currency rates as rial suffers [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Censorship Bill pushed aside by Parliament [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Internet censorship: Let it rot in walled gardens [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2012]
- The Surprising Truth About Internet Censorship In The Middle East [Last Updated On: October 13th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 13th, 2012]
- As 9/11 Pretrial Begins, ACLU Calls Out "Orwellian" Censorship of CIA Torture [Last Updated On: October 16th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2012]
- Theatre censorship set to be a thing of the past [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- China scrambles to censor novelist Mo Yan's Nobel Prize [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Internet anti-censorship tools are being overwhelmed by demand [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Censorship would hinder the Internet revolution [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Pre-Election Reading: Wen Stephenson on Climate Self-Censorship [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Director takes Chinese censorship, business battles public [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- ‘Censorship would still be around were it not for divorce’ – Owen Bonnici [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Qatari draft media law criticized by rights group [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Avila Fine Arts Lovers "Forbidden Books Part 1 and 2" - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Anonymous - OpBigBrother: Worldwide Protests 12/08/2012 engl - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Journalists Resist: 'Where is the freedom of speech?' - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- G20 invisible plot Censorship International conference Dangerous information - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- 'Qatar media censorship law ill advised' - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Facebook Censorship of Navy Seals - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- NWO`s war against the press continues as Greek journalists go on strike, alleging state censorship - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Yung Glynn [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Social Media Censorship - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy's Christmas (Rare Australian Radio Edit) - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Introduction video about my Asperger's Syndrome - Video [Last Updated On: October 31st, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 31st, 2012]
- Forget SOPA, Russia Activates Web Censorship Blacklist Law [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Censorship fears loom as Russian law allowing 'Internet blacklisting' takes effect [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Exhibit Looks At Comic Book Censorship [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Their View: China censorship shows leaders still have much to hide [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Let's Play Lucius - Part 7 - Satanic Rituals and Shocking Baths - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Mike Malloy on censorship of US history in schools (10/26/12) - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- Btooom! - Episode 5 Review - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]
- PSA OUTAKE 2 - Video [Last Updated On: November 2nd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 2nd, 2012]